Yashasvi Jaiswal’s love for the England bowling is well known. He had come to England on the back of a massive 712-run effort in the five-match home series in early 2024, but there was bound to be uncertainty when playing a Test series in England for the first time. Some experts wondered if he would be as successful against them in the tough conditions away from home and he has answered that question convincingly.

Jaiswal thwarted

Following a century in the first Test at Headingley, he looked set for an encore at Edgbaston. But it was not to be as edged a Ben Stokes delivery to the wicketkeeper and stood at the wicket for a long time in utter disappointment. The Indian fans at the ground too were stunned as Jaiswal not only fell 13 runs short of his sixth Test century in his 21st Test, but also got out 10 runs short of becoming the fastest Indian to 2000 Test runs. Legendary Sunil Gavaskar had touched the 2000-run mark in the 23rd Test in 1979. Of course, he can overtake that in the second innings, but that will surely not compensate for the century he missed out on due to an injudicious shot.  
  
Though Jaiswal had a memorable century in the first Test at Leeds, he was a disaster on the field. He had dropped as many as four catches and bore the brunt of the fans’ ire both at the stadium and on social media. But the hard-working and mentally strong Jaiswal put that nightmare behind him and again got down to the task of tackling the England bowlers. 

Though the day had started as a cool and cloudy morning, it became bright and sunny as the day progressed. And his batting also flourished accordingly, playing some aggressive cuts, pulls, and drives. There were also a few rash strokes by the hugely talented UP-born Mumbaikar, who survived them till he ran out of luck. In an attempt to guide a rising Stokes delivery to the third man, he edged it to Jaime Smith behind the stumps.